Diversified Energy to move main listing to the US as UK takes backseat

(Reuters) -Diversified Energy said late on Tuesday it would move its primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the latest company to prioritize listing in the United States over the UK as businesses tap into a booming U.S. market.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company's energy assets are primarily located in the U.S., with its executive team also based out of the country. It began trading in London in 2017 and made a secondary listing on the NYSE in 2023.

"The Board has concluded that the U.S. market is the natural long-term primary listing venue for the company and that moving to a U.S. primary listing, while retaining a secondary UK listing ... is in the best interests of its shareholders," Diversified Energy said.

Keeping its listing on the London Stock Exchange would help its non-U.S. shareholders with trading liquidity, the company said.

More than 65% of the company’s outstanding shares were held by U.S. resident investors at the end of June.

Diversified Energy's move comes on the heels of AstraZeneca's plans to switch to a direct listing on the NYSE, with the pharma major and one of London's most valuable listed companies reassuring investors that it was not exiting London.

London's stock market has been shrinking as companies move away for higher valuations and access to deeper capital markets elsewhere, particularly the U.S., where markets have outperformed the UK and Wall Street has been hitting record highs.

The exodus has prompted listing reforms from British regulators to score some rare wins, such as miner Glencore, which rejected a move to the United States and retained its primary listing in London.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)